Chapter 20: Dragon Cradle, and Off to the Beastmen Village – 23
The “match,” surprisingly enough, turned out to be a tug-of-war.
As I waited in the garden in front of the house, Zendar-shi emerged from the back carrying a rope as thick as a telephone pole and likely over ten meters long. I suppose it needed to be this thick to withstand the power of an Awakened, but it looked like it weighed several hundred kilograms just on its own.
“The match is simple. We just pull on this and see who’s stronger. You understand, right, Soushi-san?”
“Yes, I’ve done similar competitions before.”
“Is that so? Around here, whenever something comes up, we settle it with a test of strength like this. Sorry, but I gotta ask you to go along with it.”
“Of course.”
That said, judging by his tone and expression, he seemed to already know he couldn’t beat me. This was likely just a formality, something that had to be done for the sake of propriety.
I faced Zendar-shi in the middle of the garden. Naturally, the other members of my party and Zendar-shi’s family had come out to watch the outcome of the match.
“Alright, shall we begin? Grab the rope, Soushi-san.”
I did as told and gripped the rope. Zendar-shi likewise tucked the thick rope under his arm. Karma would give the signal.
“Okay, here we go. Ready… Begin!”
Zendar-shi and I lowered our stances simultaneously and began pulling the rope against each other.
Since he was challenging me, Zendar-shi was naturally an Awakened as well. Judging by his pulling strength, he seemed to possess Mighty Strength, perhaps even up to Kongōriki. Expected of the chief of the Tiger Beastmen, I suppose.
Thinking about it, I felt maybe I should let Zendar-shi save face a little. After all, word of the chief’s match must have spread, as about thirty onlookers had already gathered.
“Ah, Soushi-san, no need to worry about unnecessary things.”
Had she read my mind? Karma grinned at me. If that’s the case, I might as well end this.
“Muuuhh!!”
Zendar-shi pulled the rope with a fierce expression, like a demon. As I slowly put my strength into it and began to pull, Zendar-shi’s massive body started sliding forward.
“Nuuuuhhh!!”
Zendar-shi groaned, but with each pull from me, his body was dragged further forward.
After he’d moved about five meters, Zendar-shi yelled, “I give up!” and the match ended there. The crowd of onlookers, which had somehow grown to about fifty people, erupted all at once.
“Hah, fuu… Man, I give up. You’re completely out of my league. And Soushi-san, don’t tell me you’re not even out of breath?”
“I’m rather confident in my strength.”
“So everything you said earlier really was true, huh? Alright, I’ll entrust Karma to you, Soushi-san. Make her happy!”
Zendar-shi’s face suddenly broke into a smile as he slapped my shoulder repeatedly.
Hearing his words, the onlookers seemed to understand the implication. “Ah, so that’s what this is about,” “Wait, that beauty is Karma?! No way!”, “Hey, what’s going on?”, “You’re slow on the uptake, aren’t you?”, “Damn, I never thought Karma would turn out like that,” they muttered as they dispersed.
It felt like things had somehow resolved themselves without me fully grasping how, but maybe that’s just how life is sometimes. Since this was my intention from the start anyway, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
And so, just as I was about to re-enter the house with Zendar-shi’s arm around my shoulder, a woman’s voice called out from behind.
“Zendar, I came because you called, but what are you doing? And is it true that my Lani is here? I need to be a bit strict with that girl, so I’d like to take her home right away if possible.”
Turning around, I saw a beautiful Wolf Beastman woman standing there. With her purple hair tied up, she looked like a grown-up version of Lani.
“I see. Reaching Rank A in just a year and a half is certainly impressive. And making it to the semi-finals in the Imperial Martial Arts Tournament is something to boast about, too.”
“Right? Plus, she’s a Dragon Slayer and a Twilight Slayer, and she played an active role in the war against the Twilight Kin. She even received medals and stuff, look.”
In the reception room of Zendar-shi’s house, a conversation had now begun between Lani and her mother, Māri-san.
Zendar-shi and his wife Marza-fujin were also present, watching the exchange between mother and daughter with faint smirks.
I was sitting next to Lani, just as before, but after the initial greetings, I had mostly faded into the background.
“Well, I acknowledge that you’re doing well, Lani. But you understand that’s not what I want to talk about, right?”
As Māri-san glared, her voice laced with quiet anger, Lani’s tail twitched, but she met her mother’s gaze without looking away.
“Well, I know it was wrong of me to leave home without saying anything. But if I hadn’t done that, you wouldn’t have let me go, Mom, would you?”
“Of course not. You’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, so I was worried you’d get easily tricked if you went out. Well, seems that didn’t happen, probably because your nose works well enough.”
“I can tell what kind of person someone is just by their scent, so there’s no way I’d be deceived!”
“But that’s not the point. You’re my only daughter, so of course I worry. Don’t you understand that?”
“Well… I guess I understand, but…”
Faced suddenly with an appeal to familial affection, Lani’s tail drooped. In this kind of argument, the child rarely wins.
“So, Lani, now that you’ve achieved so much, aren’t you satisfied? You’ve become strong enough to reach Rank A. I think you could learn the duties of the chief now and manage just fine.”
“I told you, I have no intention of becoming chief. Besides, you didn’t want to do it either, did you, Mom?”
“It’s not about whether you want to or not. Anyway, you’re coming home for now. Let’s have a long talk about what happens next.”
“Ehh… But if I argue with you, Mom, I can’t win.”
Lani’s tail lay flat on the floor as she pouted. She secretly grabbed my sleeve and tugged, apparently asking for help. Looks like I had no choice but to intervene in the mother-daughter conversation.
“Excuse me, Māri-san, may I have a word?”
“Hm? Oh, sorry about that. It seems my daughter has been in your care. Soushi-san, was it? Is there something you wanted to say?”
“Yes. It seems you have your own circumstances, Māri-san, but if possible, I would like to ask for your permission for Lani-san to continue her activities as a member of Guidance of Sol.”
When I said that, Māri-san’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“Are you saying my Lani is necessary for your party’s strength? Or is it…”
“Of course, she is necessary as part of our fighting strength. In our activities so far, Lani-san has helped us in many ways, not just in battle, and her power is absolutely essential for several important tasks we have ahead of us.”
“Is that so? I’d think you could find plenty of replacements if you looked.”
“No, simply reaching the upper ranks of the Imperial Martial Arts Tournament means there aren’t many who could replace her. Her intuition as a Wolf Beastman is also extremely valuable, and as the party’s mood-maker, she’s irreplaceable. I can state with certainty that there is no substitute for her.”
“Hmm… You seem to hold Lani in high regard, Soushi-san. But that can’t be the only reason, can it?”
“What do you mean by that?”
I asked reflexively, but seeing Māri-san’s gaze, it was obvious what she was getting at. After all, she was pointedly looking over the other members of Guidance of Sol sitting beside and behind me.
“Making her parent spell it out for you… I have to question your character as a man. Am I wrong?”
“No, well…”
She might have a point, but truth be told, I hadn’t really solidified my own feelings regarding Lani yet either.
After all, she was the second youngest member of Guidance of Sol. Even without bringing my previous life’s ethics into it, normally, this kind of topic wouldn’t even come up.
As I hesitated, my sleeve was tugged hard several times. Glancing over, Lani’s eyes seemed to be urging me, “Just do something!”
I cleared my throat and turned back to face Māri-san.
“We are currently investigating an incident that concerns this entire continent. To resolve this incident, Lani-san’s power is certainly necessary. And when all that is over, I will likely settle down somewhere. I already own a house in the Imperial Capital, but I might end up going to another land.”
“And?”
“At that time, too, I would want Lani-san to be by my side. Therefore, I ask for your permission for her to continue her activities as a member of Guidance of Sol.”
Hearing my slightly evasive words, Māri-san said, “Hmm, I see…” while turning her gaze back towards the other members of Guidance of Sol.
“By the way, I hear you’re a nobleman, Soushi-san. Does that mean everyone here is in the same position as Lani?”
“Ngh!? Ah, no, that’s not quite—”
“Because everyone is the same. Because everyone is Soushi’s bride.”
Just as I was about to speak, Lani suddenly dropped a bombshell from the side.
It might be true for some of them, but not all of them… probably. At the very least, I haven’t had that kind of talk with Freynil, and in the first place, I’ve never had that kind of talk with Lani either.
“Is that so? Well, either way, if a noble-san asks for her, I can’t refuse, you know.”
She probably still didn’t trust my words; Māri-san looked at me with suspicious eyes.
“By the way, Māri-san, it seems you’re thinking of making your daughter the chieftain of the Wolf Beastmen, but it’s not like there isn’t anyone else to take the role, is it?”
“Of course not. In the first place, the chieftain position has been held by men for generations, and I’m just temporarily filling in for my late husband. It’s just that if Lani has become Rank A, then everyone would acknowledge her strength, and I thought she might be able properly succeed my husband.”
“I see.”
“I have absolutely no intention of doing that, you know. Besides, there are plenty of people who want to be chieftain, aren’t there?”
As Lani pouted, Māri-san let out a loud sigh, “Haaah.”
“Sure, if the one who wants it is suitable, I’d leave it to them. But it’s not that simple. There’s a good reason why the elders insisted that I do it, even if only temporarily.”
“What’s that? I don’t get it.”
Lani tilted her head, but it was a story I understood well.
In short, among the people currently raising their hands wanting to be chieftain, there probably wasn’t anyone suitable for the role. I had no way of knowing about the Wolf Beastmen’s organization, but from what I’d heard just now, it seemed there were figures called ‘Elders’ who determined from behind the scenes whether someone was suitable for chieftain.
It’s obvious, but even for the Beastmen who worship strength, it means they don’t decide their leader based simply on physical prowess alone.
Māri-san looked at Lani tilting her head and sighed again.
“Well, I’ll teach you about that later at home. Anyway, I understand what you’re saying, Soushi-san. However, today I’ll be taking Lani home with me. Is that alright?”
“Yes, of course.”
Lani looked at me with a face that seemed subtly on the verge of tears, but unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about this. Since Māri-san had said, “I understand,” she probably wouldn’t try to keep Lani here any longer. In that case, the rest was a matter between parent and child, so the most Lani could do was feel her mother’s affection.
Even if it took the form of a lecture.